Listen to plenty of productivity experts, and it’s simple to think that a nap is a powerful tool: rather than a quick fix after a bad night’s sleep, but a path towards enhanced cognition, improved mood and maybe improved athletic performance. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with professional piano players, mixed martial artists & high-profile executives. However, if you lack a special sleep space or employment that permits regular snoozing, is it *truly* sufficient advantages to a short sleep for it to be worth the hassle? Is there a surefire technique to get to sleep quickly enough? And can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, rather than worse?
Understanding The Nap Motivation
“Experts note three primary motivations for napping for many people,” explains an expert sleep science researcher. “The first is known as make-up sleep, which is what you do when you’ve had insufficient sleep the previous night. The second is prophylactic napping, when you are preparing for insufficient sleep coming up, such as when working graveyard shifts. The third is called “pleasure-based sleep”, which essentially boils down to desire: you have a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to do it.”
The initial step to do, then, is to examine why you want to nap. “Daytime sleep can be genuinely useful when night sleeping is being disrupted because of factors beyond your control – for example, for a new parent, or you’re recovering after being ill or strenuous activity,” says a sleep expert. “But if you take a nap because your nighttime sleep feels fragile or poor, that can be an indicator your body's sleep pressure is not as strong as required. In such situations, daytime sleep can turn into part of the problem, not the solution. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus should still be a robust and regular overnight rest.”
The Optimal Nap Duration
Therefore that napping must not be sufficiently lengthy to affect your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place post-3 p.m. (contingent on what time you retire overnight). How long is sensible? Advice differs. Among a prominent study regarding daytime sleep, experts found that space travelers showed a boost of up to 54% in vigilance and a 34% boost in cognitive performance following a nap of 26 minutes (technically, this involved a six-minute nodding-off period). “My advice is setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – many individuals doze off in under ten minutes,” notes a sleep coach. “There is plenty of guidance out there regarding the optimal amount for sleeping, yet that often lead individuals to become more stressed above all – and the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to get to sleep is to stress over it.”
If you plan to take an extended nap, bypass the 45 to 60 minute range that encourages that sluggish feeling, that foggy state when you wake. “Research indicates it's more effective to take a longer nap of one to one and a half hours compared to a medium-length nap,” says the expert. “45 minutes is sufficient to plunge you into a deep sleep stage making it more likely to feel groggy when you wake up – whereas if you nap for slightly longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to finish of a sleep cycle and will probably awaken feeling more refreshed. But if you’re sleeping for a long period, it can influence how you sleep in the evening.”
Finding the Perfect Snooze Setting
As for precise methods, suggestions are diverse. Certain specialists recommend employing similar routines one would use to encourage a good night’s sleep: a silent space, a comfortable bed and maximum darkness as you can manage. Some advise that it's fine to just doze in a chair with ambient lighting is present – to avoid sleep inertia and to preserve your bedroom as the environment your brain links with nighttime rest. “Falling asleep is something really tricky to force,” explains a sleep coach. “Without the urge to sleep, it is more challenging to recline and essentially instruct yourself to go to sleep. You need a natural inclination available to start the process in the first place. Personally, I can often take a nap in broad daylight and wake up naturally alarm-free, but what helps most folks is to anticipate a time where they feel naturally somewhat sleepy and then simply ease into sleep.”
Trying different approaches is valuable, and when you have few options – for example, if attempting to fit in a quick nap while traveling or in a work pod – there’s nothing wrong to employ sleep aids. “When I’m working with professional sportspeople, I advise that they not rely on their own bed for naps, as they’re going to have|they will
